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Short-Term FAA Extension in Place, but Legislative Debate Continues

Changes from October 3, 2017 to December 18, 2017

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Both the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation acted favorably on bills to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other aviation programs in June 2017. The two bills, H.R. 2997 and S. 1405, have significant differences, many of them related to provisions in the House bill that would create a not-for-profit private corporation to take over responsibility for running the national air traffic control system. The Senate bill contains no similar provisions, and the passage of long-term legislation will likely depend on whether both chambers can agree on an issue that they were unable to bridge last year. Disagreement on air traffic control reforms in the 114th Congress led to a one-year aviation extension (P.L. 114-190) that expired at the end of FY2017. A subsequent six-month extension (P.L. 115-63) is to expire at the end of March 2018.

Whereas S. 1405 would fund FAA programs through FY2021, H.R. 2997 would extend funding through FY2023 (see Table 1). Since the House committee bill provides that the proposed corporation would take over air traffic services starting in FY2021, it would eliminate all Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) financing for FAA operations and air traffic facilities and equipment beyond FY2020. Consequently, taxes on airline tickets, cargo, and commercial fuel would be reduced by roughly 80% starting in FY2020. These temporary tax reductions would expire after FY2023, and would therefore need to be revisited in subsequent FAA reauthorization debate. AATF funding of facilities and equipment not directly tied to air traffic functions and general fund financing of aviation safety programs would continue through FY2023 under the House bill.

Table 1. FAA Major Account Funding Authorization

(in millions of dollars)

 

FY2018

FY2019

FY2020

FY2021

FY2022

FY2023

Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

H.R. 2997

10,132

10,349

10,571

1,957

2,002

2,047

General Fund

2,059

2,126

2,197

1,957

2,002

2,047

Airport and Airway Trust Fund

8,073

8,223

8,374

 

 

 

S. 1405

10,123

10,233

10,341

10,453

 

 

P.L. 115-63 (Oct. 1, 2017-Mar. 31, 2018)

4,999

 

 

 

 

 

Airport Improvement Program

 

 

 

 

 

 

H.R. 2997

3,597

3,666

3,746

3,829

3,912

3,998

S. 1405

3,350

3,750

3,750

3,750

 

 

P.L. 115-63 (Oct. 1, 2017-Mar. 31, 2018)

1,670

 

 

 

 

 

Facilities and Equipment

 

 

 

 

 

 

H.R. 2997

2,920

2,984

3,049

189

193

198

S. 1405

2,877

2,899

2,906

2,921

 

 

P.L. 115-63 (Oct. 1, 2017-Mar. 31, 2018)

1,424

 

 

 

 

 

Research, Engineering, and Development

 

 

 

 

 

 

H.R. 2997

181

186

190

126

130

132

S. 1405

175

175

175

175

 

 

P.L. 115-63 (Oct. 1, 2017-Mar. 31, 2018)

88

 

 

 

 

 

TOTALS

 

 

 

 

 

 

H.R. 2997

16,649

16,999

17,366

5,975

6,107

6,243

S. 1405

16,525

17,057

17,172

17,299

 

 

P.L. 115-63 (Oct. 1, 2017-Mar. 31, 2018)

8,181

 

 

 

 

 

Sources: CRS analysis of H.R. 2997, S. 1405, and P.L. 115-63 (H.R. 3823).

Reforming Air Traffic Control

Under H.R. 2997, FAA facilities and equipment would be transferred without charge to the proposed corporation, which would be run by a board comprising industry stakeholders. FAA would become principally a safety regulator, rather than managing air traffic control with its own employees.

The bill would authorize the proposed corporation to charge user fees to cover its costs. This has been a particular point of contention; although the bill would exempt noncommercial aircraft from user fees, general aviation and business aviation groups have opposed the user-fee model, fearing that fees could be charged more broadly in the future and that airlines would have too much influence over how the aviation system is run.

Proponents argue that the user fee model would charge airlines for the services they use, would resolve the issue stemming from airlines' increased use of untaxed ancillary fees, and would provide the corporation with a reliable long-term funding source to support investments in new air traffic control technology. Some Members of Congress have objected that aviation user fees, like the taxes they would supplant, should be subject to some level of congressional oversight rather than being left solely to the corporation's board.

Other Key Issues

The bills differ in how they address a number of other key issues:

  • While both the House and Senate committee bills pave the way for delivery services using small drones and facilitate small commercial drone operations in low-altitude airspace, both bills would continue to limit FAA's authority to regulate model aircraft and drones operated strictly for hobby or recreation. Both bills, however, would allow FAA to require model aircraft to register, a practice that was halted by a recent court decision.
  • The Senate committee's bill would modify training standards for airline pilots, allowing FAA to consider alternatives to the existing 1,500-flight-hour requirement. Proponents argue that the increased flexibility could help regional airlines address pilot hiring needs, while opponents argue that doing so could erode safety improvements made following the February 2009 crash of a commuter flight near Buffalo, NY.
  • The House committee bill would significantly increase discretionary funding starting in FY2021 for Essential Air Service (EAS), the program that subsidizes airline service to small communities, because FAA would no longer collect the overflight fees that currently provide baseline mandatory EAS funding if the proposed air traffic privatization plan is implemented. The Senate committee bill authorizes appropriations for EAS at an annual level of $175 million for FY2018-FY2021, unchanged from the amount appropriated in FY2017.
  • Both bills would ease restrictions on the ability of airports to impose passenger facility charges to fund airport improvements. However, the current limit of $4.50 per flight segment would remain.
  • Both bills address complaints about crowding aboard airplanes. H.R. 2997 would require FAA to issue regulations establishing minimum dimensions for passenger seats, including legroom, within one year of enactment. S. 1405 would require FAA to initiate a study of minimum seat pitch within 18 months of enactment and review whether changes in seat size and legroom affect the ability to evacuate an aircraft in an emergency.